1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to image capturing apparatuses. More particularly, the present invention relates to an image capturing apparatus having a live view shooting function.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are digital cameras according to the related art having a live view shooting function that allows users to capture images while displaying images of a subject formed on an image pickup element through a lens on a display screen, such as a liquid crystal display, realtime. During live view shooting, various kinds of information on image capturing settings, such as the white balance, the recording image quality, and the color space, are superimposed on displayed live view images, thereby allowing users to easily recognize various settings while watching the displayed images. In addition, an auto focus (AF) frame that specifies an area of the displayed image subjected to auto focus processing, an enlargement frame that specifies an area to be enlarged, and a face detection frame that informs users of a detected face of a subject can be superimposed on the displayed images.
The size and position of the AF frame or the enlargement frame can be freely changed in response to user operations. Additionally, the size and position of the face detection frame change in accordance with a subject. Accordingly, the following problem may be caused. For example, when a displayed AF frame overlaps displayed various kinds of setting information, such as the white balance, the recording image quality, and the color space, one object is hidden by another object, which thus makes it difficult for users to recognize the displayed content.
To cope with such a problem, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-134358 discloses a technique for stopping displaying setting information if a displayed AF cursor, which indicates an in-focus position, overlaps the setting information.
However, since the setting information is hidden if the displayed AF cursor overlaps the setting information in the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-134358, users may be unable to recognize the content of the setting information while the AF cursor is overlapping the setting information.